News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Jan 9th

-PENN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Penn State has some catching up to do and really can’t afford to lose a game to a likely non-tournament team, even if it is on the road.

-GEORGETOWN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). The Johnnies and Georgetown have some catching up to do and could really use this win (and a whole lot more).

-BAYLOR AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). Baylor has some catching up to do, and can get caught up quite a bit if they do the nearly impossible and win this game. West Virginia is suddenly looking like a #1 seed and is ranked #2 in the nation.

-TEXAS TECH AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). Two top ten teams that are looking for the kind of win that can land a team on the #1 line. Should be fun!

-TEXAS A&M AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Texas A&M has lost three straight and really needs to win a game just to get things turned around. Kentucky is in good shape as always, but is looking to rebound from a tough road loss at Tennessee.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT ALABAMA (SEC). This game had a real bubble-ish feel to it, at least for right, and it seems rather pivotal for both teams.

-TULANE AT MEMPHIS (American). It will take a long string of wins for Tulane to get inside the bubble, but it isn’t entirely impossible.

-RHODE ISLAND AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). The A10 isn’t all that strong, but if Rhody can hold serve they should be able to land in the top half of the bracket.

-SYRACUSE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Virginia is having an outstanding year and may be able to make a run at the #1 line. Syracuse just needs wins so they can solidify themselves as a tournament team. This would certainly be a big one.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). North Carolina has not been as strong as many of us were expecting, but having said that they have a tendency to improve as the year goes on. They’re at home against a much improved BC team that could (but probably won’t) play their way inside the bubble if they’re able to pull off some wins like this.

-BUTLER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton is once again off to a good start and comes home to face a Butler team that’s also looking really good, but that could use a few more big wins on the road to REALLY solidify their resume.

-WISCONSIN AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). Whatever small hopes Nebraska may have of the NCAA Tournament could go away entirely if they lose at home to an improved but still not very good Wiscy team.

-PURDUE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). Purdue is playing like a solid protected seed, and Michigan looks like a solid tournament team that’s looking to build up their profile even further. This will be a really nice win for whoever pulls it off.

-IOWA STATE AT KANSAS (Big 12). Iowa State is still looking for their first conference win and will have a really hard time picking it up tonight against a Kansas team that isn’t quite as good as what we’re used to seeing, but that is still really damn good.

-SETON HALL AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Both teams look like tournament teams, and if Seton Hall can pick up a few road wins like this one they may be flirting with a protected seed.

-OLE MISS AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn has had an incredible year. This is a conference home game that they should win without too much trouble.

-TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Vandy has struggled all year long, and Tennessee has taken a few lumps, but is still in really good shape and is coming off a big home win against Kentucky. This is a winnable road game for the Vols so they need to take advantage of it.

-BOISE STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West). Boise is coming off a tough road loss to Wyoming in what was a really exciting game, and has another tough road trip tonight against a very good Fresno team. Boise is good enough to make the tournament, but they need wins like this to build up their resume.

-SAN JOSE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). Whatever slim hopes San Diego State has of making the NCAAs will become a lot slimmer if they can’t win this one at home.